SEATTLE, May 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The season's
first shipment of fresh Copper River salmon made the 1,300-mile
journey from Cordova, Alaska, to
Seattle onboard an Alaska Airlines
737 this morning, marking the start of the summer salmon grilling
season. In addition to the 22,000 pounds of fish delivered this
morning, Alaska has four flights
scheduled throughout the day to bring up to 77,000 pounds of Copper
River salmon to market in Anchorage and the Lower 48.
"Alaska Airlines plays a significant role in supporting the
Alaska seafood industry, which is
recognized worldwide for its sustainable fishing practices," said
Jason Berry, Alaska Air Cargo
managing director. "Our Cargo employees are working around the
clock to ensure we deliver the first catch of the coveted wild
Copper River salmon to market, often within 24 hours of being
pulled from the water."
Every year Alaska Air Cargo partners with the state of
Alaska's three largest seafood
processors, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Trident Seafoods and Copper
River Seafoods to bring the coveted fish to Seattle and Anchorage, and points beyond.
Eighth annual Copper Chef Cook-off
The season's first
fish, a 45-pound king salmon donated by Ocean Beauty Seafoods, will
become the catch of the day for three top Seattle chefs competing for the best salmon
recipe in the eighth annual "Copper Chef Cook-off." Chefs competing
this year includes Executive Chef John
Sundstrom of Lark, Executive Chef Stuart Lane of Spinasse and Artusi and Executive
Chef David Yeo of Wild Ginger. In an
"Iron Chef" type competition, the three culinary elites will have
30 minutes to prepare and serve the freshly caught salmon to an
audience of Alaska Airlines customers. Seattle culinary giant and competition veteran
John Howie and Ken Carson, the field announcer for the Seattle
Seahawks and Seattle Sounders, will co-emcee the morning event.
The winning Copper River salmon recipe will be announced on the
airline's Twitter account @AlaskaAir. Salmon lovers are encouraged
to share their favorite ways to eat Copper River salmon by tagging
@AlaskaAir and using the hashtag #iflyalaska.
Fish fanatics who want to recreate the dishes can download the
chef's recipes at
http://blog.alaskaair.com/2017-copper-chef-recipes/ and learn
what makes the Copper River salmon special and how the fishing
industry in Alaska embodies the
Alaska spirit on the Alaska
Airlines blog at
http://blog.alaskaair.com/destinations/2017-copper-river-salmon/.
Editor's note:
Downloadable drone footage of the Cooper River salmon opener in
Cordova, Alaska is available at
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/1c2850b11fd25a7d121dd7de4e81774f20170518011052/71606d71ac5660a32592e824def92c4620170518011052/a889ee.
High-definition, broadcast quality footage of Alaska Airlines is
available at
https://ascorpcomm.sharefile.com/d-sadfdde4d49545f4a.
Alaska Air Cargo transports more than 170 million pounds of
cargo annually—including seafood, mail and freight —and operates
the most extensive air cargo operation on the U.S. West Coast of
any passenger airline.
Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional
partners, flies 40 million guests a year to 119 destinations with
an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada, Costa
Rica and Cuba. With
Alaska and Alaska Global Partners,
guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900
destinations worldwide. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer
Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the
J.D. Power North America Satisfaction Study for 10 consecutive
years from 2008 to 2017. Alaska Mileage Plan ranked "Highest in
Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards Programs" in the
J.D. Power 2016 Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program Satisfaction Report
for the last three consecutive years. Learn more about Alaska's award-winning service and unmatched
reliability at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com.
Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of
Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines